Nine.
ortus/archangelus

As the edges of blades swiped through the air, silver and white mingling with dark shade, Shou looked on, fearful.

I could do something, he thought. I could own up and tell the man in the mask the truth. Judai isn't an exorcist. He got himself into this fight, probably to get me out of trouble.

He hated himself for being so useless. If he'd been good enough to stand on his own, he wouldn't have needed Judai to stand up in his place. He'd not have involved himself with a rival exorcist, and both of them would be safe right now, probably back at Judai's, amongst warmth and comfort and light.

I'm a coward, he though, and the voice in his mind agreed.

Avoiding yet another strike, Judai sprang to his opponent's side. Finding time for a quick turnaround, he made the most of a gap, pushing into him at full force. It threw him off balance, and before he could get his stance back, Judai was already tilting his head at Shou, flashing him an 'I've got this' wink.

I really hope you have. Helplessly, he looked on.

By the time Judai had turned around again, his enemy had recovered, standing back upright again. His hands rested firm on the handle of the blade, squeezing so tightly it was almost a part of him. Both fighters were beginning to pant lightly, tired out by one another's attacks and evasion, though neither was backing down yet.

"Nice," the masked exorcist commented, "but that won't be enough. Still not got a weapon?"

Judai clenched his fists, his grin growing wider and shoulders tensing. "Maybe I have. Maybe I haven't."

"And yet you're still wandering my clan's streets, acting fearless?" He flicked a stray bang from his forehead, which was beginning to gather sweat. "This is our territory. We fight whoever intrudes on it. Or maybe I should have challenged your friend instead?"

He pointed at Shou with his free hand.

Shou jerked with fear. Had he been caught out? He hadn't known Judai was facing an exorcist until he'd summoned his weapon.

Exorcists had no way of knowing they were near their own kind, let alone their enemies. Judai wasn't an exorcist, but he had probably known who he was dealing with from the beginning. He'd told him that exorcists smelled, and he could detect that scent, from what Shou knew of that vague ability.

Does that guy smell like me, then? Or of whatever his clan smells like? Are we all the same, or different?

"Does it matter who he is? I'm the one that you're fighting," Judai beckoned.

"I'm not fighting you if you're only a human."

"Only?" As if to dispute him, Judai flicked one of the little dark stones up into the air, before catching it again expertly, "You're right, I'm human."

"…I knew it."

"But I can still fight!"

He clenched his right hand back into a fist, squeezing. From his hand, then trailing down one of his sides, down to the ground and around him, small crystal-shards rose up like a small range of mountains. Swinging his arm back, the ridges on his skin and clothes faded, while those on the ground suddenly rose, growing into imposing stalagmites.

Shou saw the exorcist falter, startled. Now Judai had shown his true colours. What his opponent would do, he had no idea.

The grin on Judai's face was unchanged. "I'm a human, all right. Just not the normal kind." He flicked his wrist, and with it, the stalagmites rose and spread, rising from the floor. More erupted upwards, leaving the exorcist on edge as he darted back and forth to avoid being pierced.

Don't hurt him, Shou thought, please just don't kill him just because of this.

As one spike fell away, shattering and fading back into the surface of the ground, another would rise. Judai barely needed to move now, only drawing closer now and again to keep within range. He was drawing his opponent into a corner, and knew it; Shou hoped it would render him helpless and lead him to surrender the fight.

The quicker the fight would be over, the better, and if it ended in their favour, better still. They would make a bargain with the exorcist to keep their encounter quiet - from Ryo, especially, and anyone linked to the Marufuji clan - and they would look for other places to practice. It was the simplest way out, and no further problems would come.

He could see the two rivals drawing closer and closer to each other, Judai unable to keep the gap consistent as his opponent sped up. Barely avoiding the strikes, Judai looked as if he was tiring. The attacking exorcist was relentless on him, and Shou could just see a sly smirk beneath the mask concealing the upper half of his face.

He wanted to run. He couldn't do it.

Only a few steps away now, the stranger swung his arm forward, intending for a full-on stab, but missed; Judai had swerved, leaping back. A second and third attempt failed after, Judai keeping his enemy on his toes.

"It's all right! I'll be OK!" As if in response to a question he hadn't managed to say, Judai shouted back at him, trying to reassure him. It didn't work. Intently, Shou watched on, resisting the urge to jump in and stab the mysterious exorcist himself, even if the action would be dishonourable.

Between attacks, the enemy took his breaths, quipping at Judai, as if to slow him with words.

"OK? You're barely managing here," he chimed in, trying to affect Judai enough to finally close the gap. "Worried about him?"

He glanced sideways, Shou jerking upwards in confusion.

"Hey, aren't you meant to be fighting me?" Impatient, Judai replied. The masked exorcist looked on, away from him, focusing on Shou instead.

"Hey?" Judai shouted, but by then, his enemy was no longer paying attention to him.

Do something, Shou thought, wishing he could transmit his thoughts and knowing he couldn't. The path was clear. Judai's enemy was distracted, and if he went in for the strike now, he was sure he'd have the advantage. At the same time, Judai didn't move, eyes fixed on his rival, who in turn, was now staring at Shou's nervous figure.

"I have a feeling that you're hiding something," the man in the mask beckoned, his voice like honey. "You've been playing with me, right? Well, it wasn't that good a distraction."

"What do you mean?" Judai shouted back. "I've not been trying to - "

A single finger pointed at Shou, singling him out and making his stomach turn with fear. Helplessly, he stared on, knowing he might as well be staring into the barrel of a gun.

"It's him, isn't it? He's the one you're trying to protect. For a reason, right?"

"I - I'm not trying to - "

"Protecting your boyfriend?"

Judai's eyes widened. "Hey, he is not my - "

The remark had clearly confused him, startled him even, and he was caught off guard. Judai's rival turned to focus on Shou, running towards the other boy, knowing that he had distracted Judai. Before Shou could move out of the way - and he found that he couldn't, his legs had frozen up with anxiety -

"Ha." There was something playful in the exorcist's voice as he let the laugh slide from between his lips. It was as if something was coiling around him, some kind of pressure he couldn't explain, turning his limbs to stone and making his throat swell. He was losing control of his breaths, and his mind was falling to pieces the longer he stood there, but there was nothing he could do.

A cold, gloved hand grasped his wrist, making him yelp. The exorcist, holding on, whipped around him, moving to stand behind him, the hand holding the knife slipping into position in front of him, just below his chest.

If he so much as breathed too heavily, silver would penetrate his clothes and flesh. He fought the urge to scream, the voice of the exorcist uselessly crying out in his head.

"Don't move, my friend. I don't want to hurt you either."

Shou didn't know if he could believe him. Dread had filled him, and even with glasses, his vision was unclear. All that came from his throat was a series of small gasps.

For a second, the tension in his wrist fell away as gloved fingers uncoiled themselves.

It was momentary.

"What the hell?" Judai cried out, startled.

Shou almost screamed then. Something else had emerged in the exorcist's hands, silver and every bit as lethal as the knife he had threatened him with. His neck stiffened as he tried to look down, horror filling his entire system as he realised what he now held.

In the exorcist's other hand, drawing closer to the veins in Shou's neck, was a second knife, almost identical to the one held just lower. It lacked the bright light of a pseudo-weapon, and as soon as Shou saw the two of them next to each other, he realised.

Both had to be inherited, even if he didn't understand how.

It wasn't possible. He had never heard of an exorcist bearing two weapons.

The edge of the new knife glinted silver, so close to Shou's neck that he could see the intricate carving on its blade; the finest sign of an inherited weapon. Intricately forged, it was an image of a beautiful woman with long hair and voluptuous, exposed breasts, hew eyes seducing the knife's holder as if she was alive.

Even if she was beautiful, it was clear that one stroke could be lethal.

"I don't want to cause you pain… but all you need to do is surrender. These are pretty damn dangerous, so I wouldn't move for the sake of staying alive."

His breath hitched in his throat. He didn't want to die. His limbs froze in place, as if turned to stone with fear. The blade was imposing, threatening, ready to cut if needs be. He had to negotiate his way out, even if it meant giving up the fight, even if that exorcist's voice was screaming inside, telling him, no, you can't give this up, you have to stand up and fight like a clansman…

"We could do it the easy way. You both surrender this instant, and nothing bad happens."

Shou knew it was the right decision. He had to say it, had to admit he'd been beaten. He had no way of retrieving his weapon, and Judai, with his hand reached out in desperation behind them, was just as helpless as him. Even if he had his stones in his hands, and if Judai could hurt his attacker with his shards, then Shou would be hurt as well.

He could feel warm, unsettling breaths on his neck.

His throat ached. He had to speak. He had to surrender, even if he had done nothing. The guilt was making his head spin.

A harsh creak tore through his ears, leaving his hairs on end. He jerked upwards, narrowly avoiding the edges of two knives. The space between himself and the weapons relaxed as the exorcist's own hands twitched. His hair brushed against the back of Shou's head, uncomfortably so, as he turned around to see what was happening.

Judai remained frozen in place, yet turned to look in the same direction as the masked man threatening Shou. Shou himself dared not move a muscle, though the triangle of faint moonlight that had pooled on the warehouse floor alerted him: someone had entered the place.

We've been found out, he realised. We're doomed: him, Judai and I.

From the direction of the sudden light, clear voice rang out.

"All right, brother, drop the act."

Confused, Judai frantically turned. "Who is it?"

Shou stayed frozen, unwilling to let flesh meet silver. The knife was still barely inches from his neck, but close-up, he could see the gloved grip on its handle falter. Whoever the voice's owner was, they had power, even over the strong fighter whom Judai had challenged.

Striding in, the figure's shadow trailed, long and slender on the floor like a carpet. Light skimmed over their shape, slender but confident, long hair spread over both shoulders. Dark jeans hugged the figure's legs, and he could make out a loose sweater draped over their shoulders. The closer they came, the more he could work out, and by the time they had stopped between Judai and himself in the hands of his assailant, Shou was certain he was looking at a girl, most likely around his age, if not older.

The crack in the roof let in a streak of moonlight, and like a spotlight, it singled her out.

"I told you, let go of him. And stop with the drama next time."

With her shoulders back and chest out, there was no questioning her. Shou gasped with relief as the grip around his stomach eased. The hand holding the knife hesitated, staying close still.

"They're not meant to be here."

"I still don't see the point in you trying to kill him."

"It's called threatening!" The masked man replied, sounding more like an irritated teen than the shadowy fighter he had been until moments ago. His hands dropped, knives distancing themselves to Shou's relief, and the steps he hesitantly took back signalled retreat.

Seconds ago, he had looked lethal. Judai couldn't help but let out a giggle.

He was shushed with a single sharp gaze. "Don't even try to."

"Huh? What's with…" Judai fretted as he examined and made out more of the girl's figure, scanning her up and down before pointing straight at her. "Hey, it's you! I saw you today, I swear - "

The girl ignored him, looking on at his masked rival instead. "Come on. You're so damn theatrical."

"They were intruders. I'm keeping them out."

"Yeah, and the mask's a nice touch, Mister Phantom of the Opera," she chided.

"Asuka - "

"Shut up." She turned back to face Judai, who was looking back just as intently, slack-jawed. "You heard what he said. You're intruders. You shouldn't be hunting here, so get back to your own clan."

Shou sighed with sudden relief with the thought that he was being let off. It was all he had wanted from the start of this chaos.

Judai scowled, clearly thinking the opposite.

"I don't even have one, that doesn't apply to me!" he yelled back. "…All right, he might have one," he added, gesturing at Shou.

For a second, Shou's only thought was 'I hate you'.

The girl - Asuka - turned back to examine Shou, coming closer to address him. Judai stood still, frozen in place as the girl shoved the masked figure - her brother, they knew now - aside. Eyeing Judai sternly, she made her way over to him, her footsteps and the heels of her shoes leaving echoes ringing through the walls. Up close, he could see the strictness in her eyes. He hoped she had mercy, too, as much as she had that clear strength.

"All right. So what were you doing here then? This part of town is the hunting grounds of the Tenjoin clan. On behalf of myself and Fubuki over there," she gave a sideways glance, "I'm telling you to get out of here."

Tenjoin? And Fubuki - the masked man's name?

He was sure he'd never heard of the name, though something about it seemed familiar. Perhaps Ryo had mentioned it in passing… Either way, he didn't dare doubt the authority of a genuine clan with an inherited weapon, and, judging from Asuka's lack of a coat, exorcist's blood.

"Well…" He tried to speak up, still shaking slightly. "I… We've kind of been practicing. I swear I didn't know this was your part."

He wasn't lying. He'd never been taught about his own clan's boundaries; he'd always stuck to the area around his own house, and his father and brother had never expected him to need his abilities anyway. He'd only learned to summon his own weapon because of his own desires. It was never something that his family had supported.

"On behalf of what clan?" Asuka demanded.

Shou wasn't sure what to say. He wasn't quite a Marufuji, though he did possess the family name. He was by no means a clansman. He was closer to a nobody than an exorcist worthy of the family's reputation.

He was filled with dread as he realised the consequences. If Asuka knew Ryo, or his father, then… He felt sick at the thought of his family finding out he'd almost gotten himself killed again, worst of all, in a fight with another exorcist.

"I… I can't really say I'm in one…" He murmured. It wasn't far from the truth, in the end. He couldn't muster a better answer.

Asuka tilted her head in uncertainty. "What do you mean?"

The look in her eyes was unavoidable. She was demanding an answer, and even without words Shou found it hard to deny her the words that she wanted to hear.

"I… I'm clanborn." His voice was an odd, shaky mumble. "But I'm not a real clansman."

"I saw you fight, though," she challenged. "I've seen you two around here as well, and not just today. You've got a pseudo, I know that at least."

"That's still nothing. I… I'm not a real clansman, I swear. Believe me, I'm not meant to be fighting," Shou pleaded, praying she would understand him, and not turn him in. "I failed, and I'm not meant to be doing this stuff any more. They said they weren't going to help me the next time."

"Who's 'they'?"

"My family," he confessed, feeling his face sear with embarrassment. "I can't help it that I can't do what they can. I've tried, believe me. I don't even know if I'm cut out for this."

It stung, saying those things he'd said he had put aside, but some part of him still believed it all to be true. He'd demonstrated it even now, standing aside idly while Judai took part in a fight that might have been deathly, had Asuka not stepped in in time.

He'd been worse than nothing in that fight; he'd become a dumb hostage under Fubuki's control and in the reach of two knives. Exorcists, he knew, had to fight. He was the opposite of everything an exorcist was meant to be, and nothing but a hindrance to Judai, and to his own rejected birth-clan.

"Hey." Asuka's voice bit into him, soft yet pressing in an odd manner he didn't know whether to fear or spill his heart to. "Hey, I'm not the firstborn either. I don't know what I'm meant to be doing myself."

"Huh?" Shou looked on, surprised. She'd sussed out that he wasn't the eldest child, as if it hadn't been obvious enough, but she was fierce when he was uncertain and frightened, and he felt obliged to listen.

"That asshole," Asuka pointed to a comically offended-looking Fubuki, "is my older brother. And I'm having to shut him up. He's as dumb as exorcists get, and trust me, you don't feel like that sort of person at all."

"Asuriiiin…" A moping voice droned in the background. Asuka groaned at the nickname she had been given.

"I'm not lying," she quipped, looking over her shoulder. "My brother aside, you've got to stand up for yourself. It doesn't matter what your family thinks of you. Hell, they might all be wrong, and you never know. Being right is a subjective thing, anyway."

"What do you mean?"

"It means things are never straightforward. It's tough, but you've got to know that." Asuka sighed, flicking her hair over her shoulder. "Though, you know, I do feel bad for you. You're Marufuji, aren't you?"

Shou almost jumped. "What? H-how did you know?"

"I've met your brother."

"B-but how, I mean, how do you - he hates me, I swear -"

"He mentioned you once or twice, but it's not that. Anyone would be anxious with him for a sibling. Besides, you two have the same kind of eyes."

She had to be lying; Shou knew Ryo had the steely eyes of the clansmen, and he had murky-grey eyes like his mother. At the same time, he couldn't deny that Ryo being his kin only made the pressure more intense on him. He'd never asked to be born into the clan, and one son would have been enough to ensure the succession. It made no sense as to why he had been born anyway.

He'd heard his mother was the fourth child in her clan. If that was anything to go by, any child after the first was only asking for trouble.

"Anyway, if it's your skills that you're worried about, I wouldn't fret too much over it. Ryo makes just about anyone fear for themselves."

"But I - "

"Seriously, don't worry. Ryo's skilled, but even he screws up sometimes."

Fubuki butted in. "Yeah, like that closet emo phase he had back in high school he couldn't tell anyone about. He still kinda acts like he's got that stick up his - "

"Shut up," Asuka put her foot down. "Ignore him and his drama queen problems."

Something about the interactions between brother and sister warmed Shou's heart. His brother had never been one for jokes, or even sympathy. All he could remember of Ryo was harshness and his serious face and a series of grunts of frustration.

It was so strange to him, that Fubuki and Asuka could talk like this. Even when the gazes she shot at her brother were silencing, there was nothing so cold about them as there was whenever Ryo looked over at him.

"So," she continued, "I'm not going to do anything to you tonight. My brother might have tried to traumatise you with Beauty and the Beast - "

"What?" Judai interrupted.

"The knives. One's got a dragon on it, one's got a woman. The dragon's Beauty, and that witch is the Beast."

"Not the other way round?"

"There's a reason for it. You want to find out first hand?"

The look she shot at Judai was sharper than the very knives he had avoided death by. He didn't make any more objections.

"Anyway, he might have been overdramatic, but the point still stands. You're best off staying out of another clan's territory, for future reference. As for ours, ours is fine."

"Wait, what?" Shou asked. "It's fine?"

Asuka shrugged. "Our clans aren't at war with each other, and we know Ryo. We know you're related to him as well, and I have no idea what his problem is," - she shot Judai her stare again, making him jump - "But if he's your friend, he's fine to come here. I'm not going to tell your brother about it."

Shou breathed a sigh of relief, Judai copying him. Both were safe, and neither would have to go home bleeding.

"So that's it? You're letting us waltz off just like that?" Judai scowled. "Without a proper fight or anything? I mean, your brother was actually kind of fun, even if - "

"You're going to stop with the humour now. All right?"

Goosebumps fired up Shou's arms and neck, almost exerting a gasp. The temperature in the building had shot down in an instant. Hesitantly, he turned his head, seeing Judai looking just as uncomfortable. Fubuki, his pride already wasted, was gritting his teeth.

Looking back at Asuka, he fought his knees' urge to collapse and fall in front of her. With faint ice clustering around her cheeks and framing her eyes, her whole form was commanding obedience, icicles illuminating her hair like a brilliant halo.

Was this pressure her doing? All eyes were on the only one unaffected.

Cold was a rare thing to feel for an exorcist. It was as if ice was digging in to Shou's skin, piercing and squeezing around him, though this was ice he could feel. It was cold, bitter, biting - just like he'd heard it described by everyone else. This was a different kind of cold, far from the usual kind; resonating with Asuka's breaths, it was as filling as life and as penetrating as death, to the bone.

He wanted to scream with the slow seeping of pain, but couldn't.

He barely heard Judai groan. He was struggling to keep his head up, his hands practically bound to his chest.

"All… right… OK?" In that instant, Judai sounded like death.

Shou's ears just managed to register the sound of Asuka sighing, before the freezing grip on him began to loosen. Gently, but far from pleasantly, the paralysing feeling faded out, first from his chest and stomach, then letting him move his head, as the last of the feeling died in his fingers.

He gasped out, relieved at feeling air in his lungs again. Next to him, Judai's choked breaths made him think of a panic attack.

The hellish cold had come in quickly, but had been slower to fade. Asuka looked on at the three others in the darkness she had made her domain, still on their knees, as if bowing to her. There was a calm sort of pride in her gaze.

"Good. We've got that understood, then. I'm sorry about my brother, but I need to head back. Fubuki?"

Fubuki picked himself up obediently. Removing his mask, head down like a fool, he glanced back at Judai and Shou, as if in agreement with his sister.

"But just in case, our clans are at peace. If needs be, call us for help."

"And we're not telling Ryo. OK?" For a second, it was as if Fubuki was back to making odd comments to counter his sister's strictness, but he immediately piped down.

"At least we've got it sorted." Asuka sighed, tugging on his sleeve and forcing him to follow, like a mother pulling a dazed child from a toy store. Not looking back any more, the two turned back towards the doors of the warehouse and left, the battered doors creaking behind them.

It was an unceremonious departure. Shou's muscles still ached with the sinister cold as he forced himself to stand up. He could still see, at least, and he thought himself lucky; the cold had not broken his glasses.

"Well," Judai sighed behind him, leaning onto his shoulder with one lazy arm. "No offence to either of them, but that was seriously a disappointment."

Shou didn't move, not even if Judai leaning on him was a little too close and uncomfortable. Instead, he found himself staring at in the direction in which Asuka and Fubuki had headed, recalling their strength, and their words, in his mind.

They'd come face-to-face with another exorcist clan, and he and Judai were lucky to be alive in the end of it. The Tenjoin had let them go. They were almost willing to consider them friends of a kind.

In that moment, he allowed himself to forget the curse on his own clan.

Author's note

'rising/archangel'

We slowly move on. Next two chapters are another two-parter and will conclude Part Two. Advance warning, things get a little darker from here on out.

Parts Three and Four's writing may be delayed slightly (more details in the next few weeks, if the delays end up being longer) due to exams, travels and life in general.

...But, so far, so good, and thank you for being there for the ride. Reviews appreciated!